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topic was "Walking clubs and wild flower conservation." Mr. 

 Swift spoke of the " Yosian " brotherhood in particular. He said 

 that it is estimated that 50,000 New Yorkers walk out of the 

 City on Saturdays and Sundays to get their feet on the ground 

 and come closer to wild life. A great portion of these people 

 are city-bred, and have for the most part no appreciation of 

 the protection of wild life. The Yosian brotherhood has some 

 4500 members, which grew from a small beginning of 200 mem- 

 bers. They hail from all over the Union — from every state, 

 there being from 30 to 40 from California, but the great majority 

 are from New York City and surroundings. If these people go 

 out into the country with leaders who will give then some idea 

 of nature, and definite instruction, it will do them much good. 

 For from 250 to 350 people who walk through the woods they 

 have from 12 to 20 nature teachers stationed along the line. 

 They go ahead of a little group and talk through a megaphone, 

 telling of the trees, plants, birds, geography, and other things 

 all along the way. The fact that some wild flowers need protec- 

 tion is emphasized. Mr. Swift suggested that like the well 

 known Society of Seed Scatterers, the New York outing clubs 

 make it part of their program to scatter seeds of both cultivated 

 and wild flowers along the roadsides; also, that the clubs bring 

 back and plant in the public parks different kinds of wild flowers. 

 He believed that a great deal could be done in the way of planting 

 seeds of nut trees along the roadways. 



Dr. R. C. Benedict's topic was "Saving the Hart's Tongue 

 Fern. " This fern is rather unusual because of its long, slender 

 leaf. It is so rare that no dealer in wild flowers offers it for sale. 

 There are only a few places in North America where it is found. 

 Near Jamesville, N. Y. it grows on a limestone formation, on 

 high ridges in shaded places, and here the problem of saving it 

 is a critical one. There are two stations for the plant here. 

 One has already been saved. It is part of the Clark Reservoir 

 belonging to the State, but it is the smaller of the two and does 

 not harbor as many specimens as does that which is now con- 

 trolled by the Solvay Process Company, makers of baking soda. 

 This larger station cannot all be saved, but Dr. Benedict hopes 

 that the Company might be persuaded to leave the south and 

 east sides of it untouched. Plants of the Hart's Tongue grown 

 from spores have been raised at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 



